The invention described herein generally relates to athletic protective equipment, and in particular, improved padding systems for athletic protective equipment.
Many contact sports require protective devices to guard against injury because of the violent bodily contact that is involved. One of the customary protective devices is a specialized piece of equipment in the form of shoulder pads which are traditionally worn over the shoulders. These types of shoulder pads have long been known and used. However, the high forces of impact which can be encountered when playing such sports has caused injuries due to the fact that the high force of impact is concentrated over the area of an impact, especially the acromioclavicular area of the shoulder. The concentration of the energy from the forces of impact transmitted to the acromioclavicular area of the shoulder by the conventional cantilever strap causes such shoulder injuries.
It should be noted that due to the nature of the sport of football, as well as other contact sports, no protective equipment, such as shoulder pads, can prevent injuries; however, it is believed that such equipment can be designed to better protect the player from injuries. Existing equipment do not adequately protect the player from the occurrence and severity of injuries to his shoulders, and particularly the acromioclavicular area of the player's shoulder. There is thus a need for protective equipment that disperses energy from contact throughout the entire shoulder pad, as opposed to a traditional cantilever which disperses energy on only one side of the shoulder pad.